Selectmen came to verbal blows on Tuesday night, prompting other board members to cut the meeting short as two of their colleagues took the altercation outside.

Selectmen chairman Mark Gallivan and vice-chairman Mike Berry argued at the March 18 meeting over what Gallivan said was an issue of disrespect. Though the meeting was cut short, both Selectmen said they worked through the issue in a talk outside.

While voting to reappoint longstanding members to the Board of Health, Berry noted the board’s previous decision to look for new faces on town boards, and hold off on the vote until all candidates were present. After another member said a quorum issue might arise if the vote didn’t happen that night, Berry called the reasoning "malarkey," something Gallivan called disrespectful.

After the Berry’s statement, Gallivan asked him to treat fellow board members with more respect. Berry left the room following the vote, during which the Board voted 4-1 to reappoint the members, with Berry opposing. Upon his return, Selectmen were taking a short break. When Gallivan and Berry began to leave the room together, Berry shouted expletives at Gallivan, and the two were not present for the remaining 10 minutes of the meeting.

Board members Nancy Mackenzie and Chris Timson decided to cut the meeting short, omitting the scheduled budget discussions, because they felt nothing would get done in light of the conflict. The board then voted to enter executive session, with Berry and Gallivan missing from the vote. Board clerk Mackenzie was the acting chairwoman.

Berry and Gallivan said the issue was a "mutual misunderstanding," which they worked through in their discussion outside the meeting room. Berry called the argument water under the bridge.

"We’re all passionate about what we feel," Berry said. "We shook hands outside. We understood each others positions and that neither guy should take anything personal."

"When you get deep into a discussion sometimes, you have differing opinions and you have to work through them," Gallivan said.